Three Kingdoms: Fusion of Entries, Change of Destiny

Chapter 148 Fan Chou Dies, Jia Xu Offers Another Plan
This year has been a rare year of peace and prosperity in Yanzhou, with golden wheat fields stretching as far as the eye can see and millet fields covering the land. The people, gazing at the golden fields, all say that it is a blessing from heaven upon Yanzhou.

But for the emperor, far away in Chang'an, this year has been an exceptionally difficult one.

Whenever the bright moon hangs high in the sky, Emperor Xian Liu Xie would come alone to the Imperial Ancestral Temple and weep uncontrollably before the memorial tablets of the twelve emperors of the Western Han Dynasty and the eleven emperors of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

But every time he cried, he would start to howl hysterically.

"Our ancestors are above! The Han dynasty is teetering on the brink of collapse. If you have any spirits, look at what the Han dynasty has become today!"
Are we really going to stand by and watch our ancestors' legacy be destroyed?
"Please save me! Save the Han Dynasty!"

In the empty hall, only echoes and sobs mingled, and the moonlight shone on the memorial tablets, exuding a chilling coldness.

Two years ago, in the third year of the Chuping era (192 AD), the news of Dong Zhuo's execution thrilled the world.

However, Li Jue, Guo Si, and others were unable to obtain a pardon, and under Jia Xu's instigation, they led an army of 100,000 men straight to Chang'an.

The walls of Chang'an were high and thick, and the siege and defense remained deadlocked for eight days and nights.

Unexpectedly, the Yizhou soldiers in Lü Bu's army suddenly defected, and the moment the city gates were opened, Li Jue and Fan Chou's iron cavalry poured in like a tide.

Lu Bu fought until he was exhausted and had no choice but to abandon the city and flee.

When he was about to leave, he wanted to take Wang Yun with him, but the old minister resolutely refused: "I should protect the emperor with my life. Your Majesty's safety is my last mission."

Wang Yun ultimately could not escape his fate, and his blood stained the palace.

After Li Jue and others gained power, they forced Emperor Xian of Han, Liu Xie, to appoint themselves as General Yangwu, Guo Si as General Yanglie, and Fan Chou and others as General of the Household. Later, they were appointed as General Anji.

In September, Li Jue was promoted to General of Chariots and Cavalry, granted the authority to establish his own government, and appointed as Commandant of the Capital Region with the authority to act on behalf of the emperor. He was also enfeoffed as Marquis of Chiyang.

Guo Si was appointed General of the Rear and enfeoffed as Marquis of Meiyang;
Fan Chou was appointed Right General and enfeoffed as Marquis of Wannian;
Zhang Ji was appointed General Who Guards the East and enfeoffed as Marquis of Pingyang, and was sent to garrison Hongnong.

From then on, the government in Chang'an was jointly controlled by Li Jue, Guo Si, and Fan Chou, and the city was in constant chaos, with the people suffering terribly.

This spring, Ma Teng of Mei City asked Li Jue for grain but was refused. Enraged, he raised an army and invaded the territory.

Upon hearing the news, Liu Xie hurriedly sent envoys to mediate, but they were ignored by both Li Jue and Ma Teng.

Han Sui of Jincheng originally intended to mediate, but upon meeting Ma Teng, the two veteran generals of Xiliang, united by their shared hatred of the enemy, decided on the spot to join forces against Li Jue.

Meanwhile, Zhong Shao, the Grand Counselor, Ma Yu, the Attendant-in-Ordinary, Liu Fan, the Left General of the Palace Guard, and others in the court, seeing the chaotic situation, were also making their own plans.

Knowing that Li Jue, Guo Si, and others controlled the government and were causing trouble in the court, they plotted a scheme to coordinate from within and without, hoping to use Ma Teng's power to eliminate Li Jue and his associates.

They secretly contacted Ma Teng, urging him to attack Chang'an, while they acted as inside agents in the court, attempting to eliminate treacherous officials like Li Jue and Guo Si in one fell swoop and restore order to the court.

Ma Teng and Han Sui thought the plan was feasible, so they immediately led their troops to Changping Temple, waiting to coordinate with Zhong Shao and others from within and without to deliver a fatal blow to Li Jue and his men.

However, things didn't go as planned, and Zhong Shao and his group's plan was unfortunately exposed. Upon learning the news, Li Jue flew into a rage and immediately took action. Seeing that their scheme had failed, Zhong Shao and his men had no choice but to flee Chang'an hastily, escaping all the way to Huaili.

Li Jue then dispatched Fan Chou, Guo Si, and his nephew Li Li to lead a large army to attack Ma Teng and Han Sui. Li Jue's side was well-trained and numerous, and after a fierce battle, they won a great victory, killing more than 10,000 enemy soldiers. Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Han Sui and Ma Teng had no choice but to lead their remaining troops and flee back to Liangzhou in disgrace.

After defeating Ma Teng and Han Sui, Fan Chou led his army to attack Huaili, determined to wipe out Zhong Shao and his men. Although Zhong Shao and his men fought desperately, they were ultimately outnumbered.

In the end, Zhong Shao and his accomplices were all killed, and the rebellion was quelled.

During the battle, Li Li was passive in combat and was publicly reprimanded by Fan Chou: "At this critical moment of life and death, how dare you slack off! Don't think that I dare not cut off your head!"

Li Li was utterly humiliated, his hatred grew wildly, and he secretly vowed to seek revenge when the opportunity arose.

When Fan Chou led his army to pursue Han Sui, another unexpected event occurred.

Han Sui knew that Fan Chou was brave and fierce, and that he would have no chance of winning if he fought him head-on, so he devised a plan.

He sent someone to contact Fan Chou, saying that the two were from the same hometown in Xiliang and were of the same origin, so they could talk things over.

Fan Chou was a forthright and loyal man, and upon hearing that it was an invitation from a fellow townsman, he accepted without much thought. After the two met, they rode side by side, holding each other's arms and chatting and laughing.

Upon returning to his camp, Li Li happened to witness this scene, and his resentment surged up again. He felt this was a good opportunity to bring down Fan Chou.

So Li Li ran to Li Jue and, embellishing his account, told him what he had seen, saying:

“Uncle, Fan Chou and Han Sui have an unusual relationship. They were even laughing and talking on the battlefield. I’m afraid they’ve secretly colluded.”

Li Jue was inherently suspicious, and upon hearing Li Li's words, he immediately harbored suspicions about Fan Chou.

But Li Jue was shrewd and calculating, and he did not turn hostile on the spot.

To stabilize the situation, Li Jue pretended to grant Fan Chou and Guo Si their own offices, thus firmly grasping the power of the court in personnel appointments.

However, at the end of the year, Fan Chou requested reinforcements to march east out of Hangu Pass, a move that thoroughly angered Li Jue.

Taking advantage of the situation, Li Li fanned the flames: "Uncle, if Fan Chou gains power, he will surely become a major threat. If we don't get rid of him now, when will we?"

After much deliberation, Li Jue finally made up his mind to kill Fan Chou.

Just as Liu Xie was recovering from a serious illness, a banquet was held in the palace to celebrate.

Li Jue saw this as an excellent opportunity, so he used the banquet as bait and sent someone to invite Fan Chou to attend.

Fan Chou, unaware of the trap, gladly accepted the invitation to the banquet.

At the banquet, everyone toasted and drank, and on the surface, everything seemed peaceful and harmonious.

In the midst of their feast, Li Jue gave his nephew, Cavalry Commandant Hu Feng, a wink.

Hu Feng understood immediately and led a group of people in. Without saying a word, he used the emperor's ceremonial regalia to attack Fan Chou.

Caught off guard, Fan Chou was beaten without any chance to fight back.

He never imagined that his loyal service to Li Jue would end up like this.

Emperor Xian, Liu Xie, sat to the side and watched this scene unfold, utterly stunned.

He wanted to stop it, but he had no real power and was completely powerless.

Fan Chou struggled desperately on the ground, and soon he was covered in blood, lying there lifeless.

When Chang'an was captured, Li Jue and Guo Si killed Wang Yun and then tried to kill Emperor Xian, Liu Xie, as well.

It was Fan Chou who risked his life to stand in front of everyone and plead desperately, which allowed Emperor Xian to escape this calamity.

Over the years, although Fan Chou was also a former subordinate of Dong Zhuo, he was the only general who could make Emperor Xian Liu Xie feel warm and safe.

It was precisely because of Fan Chou's overt and covert care and protection of Emperor Xian that Emperor Xian was able to live to this day.

But now, Fan Chou had died right before his eyes. Emperor Xian Liu Xie was filled with grief, and tears streamed down his face.

After Li Jue and Hu Feng killed Fan Chou, they didn't even glance at Emperor Xian, Liu Xie, leaving the stunned and tearful emperor behind, and swaggered away.

In the empty palace, only the dazed Emperor Xian Liu Xie and the mangled corpse of Fan Chou remained.

at the same time,

Zhang Ji's camp, far away in Hongnong, welcomed a "distinguished guest" who had been missing for many days.

He was Jia Xu, the culprit who caused chaos in Chang'an and the death of Wang Yun with just a few words!
(End of this chapter)